Oppo UDP - 205

hopefully the few bugs in the 205 will be sorted out in future firmware updates.

I hope so too. However, the firmware "updates" thus far in my opinion are analogous to having a problem with your homes foundation and then hiring a contractor to remodel the upstairs bathroom. As to their latest bug, a black widow spider is also a bug, and that is lethal to humans.

Ozzy,
Thanks for your impression on the update!

The UDP-205 disappointed me, it does NOT support Tidal, it only streams from a NAS or attached disk.  In talking with support they confirmed that Tidal or any other streaming service will not be supported which tells me Oppo has their eye off the market.

As for sound its not much better than my Modwright modified 105 and its definitely not as good as the Schiit Yggdrasil

It is however a very good 4k player!

The UDP-205 disappointed me, it does NOT support Tidal, it only streams from a NAS or attached disk.

At least in the case of not supporting Tidal, it is/was advertised as such. So no harm there because the buyer is aware before hand and can make an educated purchase (or educated choice not to purchase).

The problem I’ve discovered rises to a completely different level of egregiousness. I honestly wonder whether or not at least some of the specs are fraudulent. And while admittedly I’d be surprised if that were the case, I think it behooves Oppo to produce some kind of *third-party* scientific results (not the mere silly professional review bench tests) from a credible lab that can substantiate whether or not the unit actual outputs correct resolution, aspect ratio (which it currently does not in all cases) and audio synchronization among a myriad of other parameters.

If I as an end user was *easily* able to notice an issue in source direct mode, imagine the other problems not readily detectable by human eye/ear.

I bought the Oppo 205 primarily to watch 4K movies with the 7 channel analog outputs. It is fantastic for that purpose and even better with the power supply mod.
Finally, with this mod I was able to put in a SR Black fuse. (The standard Oppo 205 design has the fuse soldered in). But, to ever replace that fuse the whole unit has to be taken apart again.
So, if the fuse ever blows I will install an external fuse holder like I did with my Oppo 95.

If you are thinking that the Oppo competes with the best of Dacs it does sort of, but the difference is still quite noticeable.

ozzy